Writer's Note: This was a request from the wonderful the_flowergirl, for the prompt "Kataang" and "White". I had trouble at first with it, but once I thought about it, it seemed to grab me and make me write it without pause. Enjoy!

WARNING: Contains spoilers for Sozin's Comet. Occurs four years post series.

Katara loved winter.

She was definitely a Water Tribe woman at heart. When her fellow tribes-people complained of the biting cold, she threw up her hood and dashed into it. When the snow fell in heavy blankets, while everyone else hid in their homes to wait it out, Katara was often the only one outside relishing in the feel of snow on her skin.

When they were younger, Sokka was often seen at her side, either throwing her into snow piles or tossing barrages of snowballs at her until she started crying (he threw them hard). But when they started growing older, and finally, when their mother was killed, Sokka seemed to take every snowfall personally. His eyes would narrow at the first sight of flakes, and he wouldn't move from a chosen watching post until the last flake fell.

Unlike Sokka, the snow never held a sense of angst for her. The way the flakes sparkled on their way down, the way it felt crisp and cool on your tongue and eyelashes, and the way it seemed to blanket everything in its immaculate whiteness…it was like a fairy tale for Katara, a sort of romance that she celebrated every winter.

Katara always thought that, eventually, she would grow out of it. But here she was, in the dead of winter, sitting in the embrace of a chest-high snowdrift, and she was eighteen.

She was bundled up pretty well, but even she felt slightly cool. Her hood was covering her head, and the soft fur lining it tickled her cheeks occasionally. For the most part, she had her eyes closed, so that she could enjoy the feel of the cold air, listen to the sound of the falling snow, and smell the crisp freshness of the collecting mass beneath her.

It also helped that, due to her bending, she could feel the snow's patterns almost five times as much as usual. It connected her to everything around her, and at this moment, she needed all of the peace she could get.

The past couple of years had been hard, hard on her, and hard on her friends. Despite his constant searching, Aang had yet to find any hint of another airbender. If she were to be honest, Katara wasn't surprised. No one really knew how bending manifested in a person; it was completely random and sporadic. The fact that there were no other airbenders was of little surprise, especially after all of this time. That didn't mean she felt any less sad about it.

And then, of course, there was the trouble with the Fire Nation. Not for lack of trying, she knew. Her eyes fluttered a little at the thought of poor Zuko, to whom she had grown close to over the years, struggling to make ends meet as much as possible for the good of the nations. Every time she saw him, he looked older and more worn out. It was only with his marriage to Mai last year that she had seen a real light in his eyes, a real joy in his face.

Katara leaned back, lying on her back and opening her eyes a little. She squinted at a few flakes that tried to throw themselves into her eyes, but with barely a second thought, with her bending, she pushed them away gently.

Sokka, she had no idea what was going on with him. She knew that he and Suki were still together, but there had been no plans for them to live together, nor had Sokka talked about carving a betrothal necklace for her. The love was there, and it was deep and real, but Katara wondered if both of them were content with what they had. As long as Sokka was happy, she reasoned, then whatever he chose was the best decision.

She smiled a little at her next thought. Toph, the moment she had turned sixteen, declared herself officially an adult and ran as far away from her hometown as possible. While Katara knew she visited her parents once and a while, she also knew how hard it was to track the younger girl down. She was always travelling, always making use of her freedom. Despite being blind (or maybe because of it), she had made quite a name for herself, especially when it became public that she was the only known metalbender alive. Flocks of earthbenders tried to track her down, and when they managed to, often begged her to teach them metalbending. But, being Toph, she not only refused, but made sure they got as far away from her as possible in five minutes or less.

Katara couldn't help herself. She giggled a little at the thought. Toph's last letter, which had been dictated by a scribe in Ba Sing Se, described her last run in with a would-be student, who had followed her for over a month before being caught and blasted away. Katara wondered if Toph would ever take on a student after Aang. It would be something to watch.

Aang.

The thought alone made her smile wider, although her cheeks reddened a little. What had begun as an innocent childish crush had blossomed into something much more, something she could have never imagined.

Granted, it wasn't all daisies and roses. There were times when Aang's childlike behaviour was so frustrating, especially when Katara was trying to be serious, that she wanted to freeze him and leave him that way for another hundred years. And, Aang had admitted to her once, that she dwelled too much on what had been and what could be instead of what was happening now.

But then, despite those differences, there was a lot more to what they had.

There was joy. The happiest moments of her life were spent in Aang's company, be it doing something ridiculous like riding elephant-koi (yes, he had actually managed to sucker her into it once, although Suki had been furious) or finding ways to scare Zuko (this one she actually enjoyed completely; there was nothing like making a twenty-year-old ruler of a nation squeal out in shock like he was half his age).

There was warmth. The way one of his hands always found hers casually, the way his fingers wove themselves so naturally with her own. His hugs, his kisses, and the way he just had to fling himself into her arms when he saw her after a period apart, usually with a laugh and a few messy kisses. The way he hugged her when they were alone, when she needed comfort. The way he held her in his arms when they were sharing deeper kisses and more intimate moments.

And then, there was the love. A love that, to her surprise, Aang had never grown out of. Some dark part of her always wondered if he would, but it had been four years, and he never had. If anything, it became larger, more intense, more focused on what they really and truly had.

When Aang told her he loved her, she believed him. She believed that it wasn't just the love of deep friendship, or the love that a younger boy has for an older female friend. The way his eyes shone when he said it, the way he smiled widely on the word "love", made her feel so much more than she ever thought possible for him.

She loved him, too.

Something nearby stirred, breaking her out of her reverie. She could feel it through the snow, and she sat up slowly, her hood falling from her head. She blinked and looked around. In the far distance, she could see a few of the buildings of the village, but nothing else.

She shrugged and settled back into her nest of snow, sighing. She knew that if she wasn't careful, she would fall asleep, which would be trouble, but the snow felt so comfortable around her that she only worried about it distantly.

She was drifting off when she felt the same stirring feeling around her. She jolted upwards again, her heart racing. She wasn't just imagining it this time. Someone was nearby.

Katara found herself easily focusing on where the disturbance was centred. Years ago, such a feat would have been impossible, but now it was like second nature to her. Through her focus, she could feel that there was…something…hiding in the snow a few yards away.

Slowly, she got to her feet. The snow around her legs solidified gently, encasing her into a solid grip without hurting her. She held her hands out, poised and ready, while her eyes scanned through the curtain of falling snow.

Nothing.

"That's annoying," she muttered, lowering her arms. The snow loosened around her legs, and she sighed. Maybe she had been out for too long, and she was getting snow madness.

She was just about to start on her way back to the village when something blue and white burst out from the snow beneath her feet with a loud yell. She shouted and threw her hands up, but whatever it was was too fast, and within seconds both it and she were buried in the snow drift.

Katara froze, her heart racing even faster. Her vision was full of snow, and all she could see was white. Whatever had tackled her was still on her, and she couldn't move very well.

However, before she started to panic, the snow was suddenly thrown away, and a familiar, beaming face was hovering just inches over hers.

"Gotcha, Katara," Aang said happily. "You know, you're funnier to scare than Zuko is."

Katara blinked up at him, momentarily taken aback. He leaned down and kissed her on her lips, but she was too stunned to kiss back. When he pulled away, she found some words.

"You're not supposed to be here!" she exclaimed, her arms instantly going around him. With a laugh that sounded like a shout, she pushed Aang away and tackled him into the snow. He laughed in reply and looked up at her, his eyes shining. "You said you would be gone for a month!" she accused.

Aang reached up and cupped her face between his gloved hands. "I know," he replied. "I got frustrated." Hs smile softened. "You miss me?"

Katara pulled him to her and hugged him so tight he wheezed. When she let go, she finally noticed what he was wearing, and was suspicious. "Wait a second, you're wearing…"

Aang nodded, sitting up beside her and tugging on his parka. "Sokka leant them to me. They're still too big."

Katara's eyes fell on the hat he wore on his head, and she had to admit that the earflaps were cute. "So that's how you knew where to find me," she said.

"Actually, Sokka was, uh, sort of preoccupied…" Aang scratched his cheek and went pink. "Suki and I arrived together."

"Suki's here?" Katara wondered. She got to her feet, then held out her hand to Aang. He took it, and she helped him to his feet.

"Yup," he agreed. "Sokka saw me, then saw her, then threw his parka and stuff at me and told me to get lost." He threw out his arms. "So I did!"

Katara laughed. Aang smiled, then looked around them. "Wow," he breathed out, shielding his eyes against the glare of the snow. "All you can see is white. It would be easy to go nuts out here."

Katara shrugged. "I never go nuts," she replied. "I love it out here. I could spend years out here."

Aang moved closer and placed a hand on her cheek. She looked at him. He hadn't grown much taller than her over the years - only a few centimetres - but that was okay. She herself was rather tall, and had always expected that Aang would be shorter than her.

"You're like a snow queen, out here all alone, curled up in the pockets," Aang said softly, his eyes looking into hers.

Katara smiled. "Are you making fun of me?"

Aang shook his head. "Never."

"I'm glad you're here, Aang," she admitted.

"I'm glad I'm here, too," he replied happily. She laughed.

"So I guess we shouldn't go back home just yet," Katara admitted, making a face at the sudden mental image of Sokka and Suki being 'preoccupied'.

"Nope, I wouldn't," Aang agreed. He suddenly threw himself into the snow and lay on his back, shutting his eyes and breathing out. Katara shrugged and followed suit, landing right beside him.

There was a moment when they were both silent, both relishing in the feel of the snow. Katara, inwardly, felt her heart soar within her breast. She would never have imagined, in all of her life, that she would not only find someone who understood her joy in snow, but would also share it with her, too. She reached over and grabbed Aang's hand in her own. When he squeezed, she tugged, pulling him over to her.

He scooted closer and, in a move that knocked the air from her lungs, threw his arms around her and snuggled closer to her. She smiled, pulling him tightly to her. She felt him sigh, deeply, and she laughed.

"Katara," he said softly, his voice sounding drowsy. "I love you."

She smiled and tugged on him again. He sat up, and she did the same. She leaned in close, cupped his face in her hands, and nodded. "I love you, too, Aang. Duh." When he laughed, she pulled him close and kissed him. He kissed her back.

And for along time, that was what their world consisted of: the cool embrace of the snow, and the warmth of their kisses. And it was more than enough.